Lions' Jim Schwartz moves step closer to ruling out Matthew Stafford

ALLEN PARK - There is still no word on who will be the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions on Sunday against San Francisco, but head coach Jim Schwartz gave another indication that rookie Matthew Stafford is not in the mix.

"Let me hold one more day on that,'' Schwartz said of a decision to sit Stafford for a third straight week. Stafford is still recovering from a separated left shoulder. "He is improving but mostly not. Let me hold one more day, but most likely not.''

As to the decision between starting Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton, Schwartz is keeping quiet.

"For competitive purposes, it doesn't do us a whole lot of good to announce on a Tuesday,'' Schwartz said. "By the end of the week, we'll have a decision. We're close to making a decision.''